Harvesting My Memories
by SawItComming
Summary: How Did I get here? The Ocean? Why can't I remember anything? It's....just blank. Have I truly forgotten everything before I floated into the Mineral Town beach?
1. All Washed Up

"Ma'am?"

Something shook my shoulder lightly.

"Ma'am, are you ok?" The voice was distinctly male and soothing.

I opened my eyes slowly and they connected with eyes of deep, almost black, grape.

"Can you hear me?" He waved a hand in front of my face.

I balled my hands into fists and felt fine grains of sand flow from between my clenched fingers. I was acutely aware of the sounds of waves lapping at the shore. "Uhh..." I groaned. My clothing and hair clung to my body.

"Out of the way," The deep grape eyed man demanded, scooping me up. "Elli, lets get her to the Clinic."

"Yes, Doctor." A shy female voice responded, moving through the crowd that mobbed around us.

"No..." I managed to moan, trying to push the man away from me.

"Calm down," The Doctor held me firm. "We're going to help you."

"I don't need help..." I whispered.

"The state we found you in says otherwise." He said in a commanding voice that clearly meant this conversation was over.

I was sitting in one of the two small Clinic beds and the Doctor and his nurse, Elli, worked over me.

"Can you feel this?" The Doctor bumped my knee with a little rubber mallet and I nodded.

After a few more tests, the Doctor pulled a chair up to the side of my bed.

"Are you alright?" He started slowly.

"Why wouldn't I be?" I focused entirely on him.

He furrowed his brow. "You were floating unconscious in the ocean, barely clinging to a piece of drift wood to keep from drowning. And even then I had to give you CPR to clear the water from your lungs."

So that's why my throat felt so raw and sore.

"What's your name?" He wove his fingers together and leaned in closer to me.

"I don't know....I-I can't remember..." I began to panic, my breathing and heartbeat rose.

"Do you know where you came from?" He tried his best to keep me calm.

"No, I can't remember anything! It's all blank!" I could feel myself about to breakdown and cry.

"We'll help you get better." The Doctor grabbed my hand and stroked the back of it with his thumb. "Just stay calm and relax, focus on getting better." He pulled a pen out of the chest pocket of his long white coat and scribbled something on a clipboard. "I'm going to put you on some medicine to help your throat. You'll be confined to the Clinic until we can at least unlock your identity, in the mean time, if you wish to go outside, either Elli or I will accompany you."

I licked my lips, they were parched and cracked.

"Here," The Doctor held a glass and straw to my mouth. "You'll be dehydrated. I'll put you on an IV drip. Just get some sleep."

He really didn't have to tell me that, by the time I had drained the glass, I was drifting off into the sea of slumber.


	2. Examination

Doctor POV

I woke up and headed down to my office. As soon as I sat down, I grabbed the phone and dialed for Dr. Hardy. I glanced over at where the girl was sleeping and listened to the phone ring.

"This is Dr. Hardy, how may I help you?"

"Hello, Dr. Hardy, this is Trent. I have a bit of a problem I would like you to check out later today if you have the time."

"Of course. Did you finally run yourself into the ground Trent?" Hardy laughed. "I keep telling you even doctors need breaks."

"I'm fine, it's something else. Last night, a young woman floated into the beach, half-drowned, with a serious case of amnesia. I'm not sure what to do and would like your opinion on the matter."

"Oh.." The joking tone to Hardy's voice was gone now. "I'll be over right away. And Trent?"

"Hmm?"

"Next time call me as soon as something like this happens." The other line went dead.

I held the phone to my ear a few moments longer before hanging up and sitting at my desk to work on some paper work.

"Uhh..?"

I looked across the room to where the girl was rolling around slightly, struggling to sit up.

"You're awake." I commented, loudly enough for her to hear. "Someone's coming over later to take a look at you."

The girl sat up and looked at me.

"He may be able to help you remember, ok?" I crossed the room and checked her IV. I noticed she was tugging at a thin golden chain that hung loosely around her neck, the bottom half of it disappearing down the front of her shirt. "What's this?" I gently tugged the chain up and took hold of the pendent on the end of it.

The girl made a slightly uncomfortable sound as I traced my fingertips over the engraving on the golden disk.

"What's that?" Elli was suddenly leaning over my shoulder to look at the pendent.

I jolted slightly, I hadn't even heard her come in.

"Those look like those picture things Professor Carter fawns over." She said, almost absentmindedly.

"That they do." I crossed back over to my desk and dialed for Carter.

"What is it?" Carter answered, sounding annoyed.

"There's something here that you might be interested in, and it may help us as well." I watched Elli bring the girl a juice box.

"...Did you find an artifact..?" Carter was trying hard to suppress the excitement growing in his voice.

"I don't know. There's writing on it, but it's certainly not modern, it's pictures."

"Me and Flora will be right over!" He nearly whooped with joy before hanging up.

"Well...that was eventful." I hung up and sat back down at my desk.

It wasn't long before the front door swung open.

"Hello, Clarie." Elli greeted the local farmer.

"Hello, Elli." Claire hoisted a basket of fresh food onto the counter.

"What's all this for?" I walked over to greet her.

"Hello, Doctor. Sometimes, lost memories can be retrieved by having an encounter with something familiar, like a favorite food. So I brought a whole bunch of food to try out." Claire smiled sweetly. "May I...?" She gestured towards the room where the girl was.

"Of course." I nodded and led her to the girl.

"Hello there. My name is Claire."

The girl stopped toying with her necklace long enough to give a slight nod.

"I brought some stuff to help you get better." Claire planted the basket on the side of the bed. "Let's get started."

___________________________________________________________________________________

By the time Dr. Hardy had arrived, the girls had sampled everything from milk to strawberries to cucumbers.

"Is this her?" The Doctor pointed at the girl.

"That's her." I nodded.

"Hello there. I'm Dr. Hardy, is it alright if I give you a check-up?"

The girl nodded slowly and Dr. Hardy began.

"I need you to take off your shirt." He said after a few minutes.

The girl looked at him like he'd gone crazy.

"You don't need to take off your bra, just your shirt." He sighed.

"Ok?" She exhaled loudly and pulled her shirt off over her head.

Elli and Claire, who was still in the room, gasped loudly and I closed my eyes for a moment.

"As I thought.." Dr. Hardy sighed sadly.

I opened my eyes and stared at the girls abdomen.

The girl's entire body was discolored with large purple and green bruises.

"No breaks, that's good at least." Dr. Hardy felt along her bone structure, working his way up to her head. When his fingers moved over the top left portion of her head, she emitted a terrible pained squealing noise. "Oh, dear..." He said, almost inaudibly.

"What is it?" I took a step forwards towards them.

"Feels like she's been hit over the head with something. Elli, could you go get Thomas, please?"

"Yes, Doctor." Elli nodded and headed off.

"Hardy, why do we need Thomas?" I asked, forgetting Claire's presence for a moment.

"Because I suspect this was an attempted murder."


	3. Who are you?

Doctor POV

"You can't remember anything at all?" Thomas asked her for maybe the third time.

"Nothing." She whispered.

"Well, I'll check all the nearby cities for any missing persons reports. We'll see if we can get you back home." Thomas promised, sliding his pen behind his ear and tipping his hat. "I'll get right on it. I wish you a healthy recovery."

The girl toyed with her long brown hair and nodded. "Thank you."

The front door slammed open and everyone jumped.

"Where is it?" Carter ran up to me, eyes shining.

"Professor," Flora's British accent rang clearly. "You're going to scare the girl."

"Oh, um, yes, right...the girl." Carter coughed and straightened out his vest. "May I see the item in question?"

I slowly grabbed the pendent from the girl and held it out to the Professor.

"Oh, wonderful!" He boomed, causing the girl to wince. "These are Egyptian Hieroglyphics! This one isn't an artifact, though it does look custom made. The craftsmanship is brilliant, I've never seen one..."

I began to drone out the rest of Carter's speech and looked around.

Elli looked like she was doing the same.

Flora just rolled her eyes. "Professor, what does it say?" She prodded after a long while.

"Huh? Oh, yes...it appears to be her name or, rather, her nickname."

"Which is....?" Flora continued.

"It says 'Kat'." He finished, letting the pendent fall back around the girl's, Kat's, neck.

"Wonderful!" I wrote her name down on her clipboard. "Thank you, Carter."

"No, thank you. That's an amazing piece of work she has there."

"Professor," Flora protested, checking her watch. "We have work that needs to be done and shipped out by tonight."

"Of course, Flora, let's go." Carter headed towards the door.

"Goodbye, and get well soon." Flora shook Kat's hand before following after Carter.

_What do you think? Please review and tell me what I need to make better!_


	4. I like animals

Kat POV

The Doctor pulled his chair up beside my bed. "Your name's Kat?"

"I think so...I'm pretty sure." I corrected myself and nodded firmly.

"Did that jog any memories?" He asked.

"No...I'm sorry...well, there is one thing I remember and am sure of."

He smiled and leaned in towards me. "What's that?" His eyes were sparkling with excitement.

"I like animals." I picked at my clothes that were still partially filled with sand.

Doctor and Elli locked eyes and, slowly, twin smiles curved their lips.

"Where are we going?" I asked as Doctor and Elli led me down the road in a pair of overalls they borrowed from someone named Ann for me.

"Somewhere you will enjoy." Elli smiled assuringly.

"It may help cure you." Doctor promised.

"But where?" I whined.

"A surprise." The Doctor fixed me with shining, excited eyes.

I felt blush rising in my cheeks and let me hair hang down the side of my face, hiding it from the two people flanking me. "Doctor-"

"My name's Trent. Now that I know what to call you, you might as well know what to call me." He tucked my hair behind my ears. "You can't see where you're walking if you cover your eyes."

I felt the warmth of the sun's rays touch my face and the breeze tugged at the thin, baggy sleeves of my tunic.

"Walk this way." Trent continued on down the road and I followed, letting my hair cover my face.

I watched my feet, I was wearing a borrowed pair of flip-flops from someone named Karen. They were made of some woven, straw colored material.

"We're here!" Trent stopped and I slammed into his back.

Elli caught me before I could fall.

"The Blue Sky Ranch." He sidestepped so I could see.

The sight was breathtaking.

Cattle and sheep stood out in the field, munching at the long green blades of grass as the rippled like a green sea in the warm breeze.

"Chickens!" I grinned as a flock of multicolored chickens went clucking past, strutting about.

A small orange puppy charged past, baring his milk teeth at the chickens in a puppy snarl before he noticed us and began barking.

Claire's head popped up from next to a cow in the sea of grass. "Hello!" She waved.

A young man with a long brown ponytail working in the garden stopped and watched us, leaning on his gardening hoe.

"Oh, look at you!" Claire came over to greet us, towing along a bucket full of milk. "You're up and about."

"My name's Kat." I grinned at her.

"Well, I'm Claire." She put down the pail and shook my hand enthusiastically. "Nice to meet you again."

"Is this her?" The young brown haired man picked up the barking puppy to quiet it.

"Yep! Kat, this is my husband, Cliff." Claire picked a piece of grass out of her blonde hair.

"Nice to meet you." He shifted the wiggly puppy to shake my hand.

"Kat had an epiphany earlier." Trent grinned.

"Oh, what's that?" Claire took the puppy from her husband and laughed as it licked her face.

"She likes animals."

"Really?" Claire put the puppy down and squealed happily. "That's wonderful, we can hang out together!"

I watched as the puppy helped himself to the unattended pail of milk, his tiny tail wagging furiously. "Umm...Claire?" I tilted my head towards the orange furball.

"Clay!" Claire scooped up the puppy and scolded it gently before handing it back to Cliff and picking up the bucket. "Well, let's show you around."


	5. Touring

Kat POV

"This is my house." Claire stated simply as she poured the milk through a machine that made it into a pale and gooey cheese.

A black cat fell out the the rafters, onto my shoulder, and I screamed.

"This is Sootball, my kitty." Claire said as though the cat had only just walked up to her instead of falling on top of me from the sky. "She can be a handful at times." She tore a tiny chunk of cheese off and threw it to the cat before wrapping the cheese up and exiting the house.

"Shipment bin." She dropped the cheese down the chute of a wooden box.

"Isn't that unsanitary? Is it refrigerated?" I asked.

"Eh." She shrugged. "I assume so, I've never actually opened it, Zach, the shipment guy, always opens it. My job is just to fill it."

I leaned over the small pond by the shipment bin.

Silver fish swam in the water, their many scales shining as the sun reflected off them.

"So," Claire addressed me from where she was standing by an apple tree, extracting honey from a bee's nest. "How old are you anyways?"

"17, I think. What about you?"

"20, and Cliff is 22."

The group of chickens wandered past, being herded by Clay, the wiggly orange puppy.

"Elli's 23, and I think Doctor is 27." She dropped the jar of honey down the chute. "Hen house up ahead, but we won't go in. Our big hen, Mama Mia, is very fussy when it comes to newcomers around her babies." Claire hopped the fence and waded through the sea of grass.

Clay scrambled over the fence to follow us.

"This is Shere," She scratched a sheep under its chin. "There's also Cotton, Wool, and Fleece." She waved towards where a few other sheep were resting.

I suppressed a shudder as I felt the sheep's eye scrutinizing me, as if checking for my faults.

"Come meet the cows!" Claire plowed through the grass so though it wasn't there.

I sighed and did my best to push my way through the grass.

"This is CJ." She patted the large black and white cow. "Brownie." She pointed to a soft brown colored cow. "Sorrel." She gestured towards the small-by-comparison red colored cow. "Pixie." She pointed to where a molten black, brown, and white cow was sitting on some short grass. "And, of course, little Fae."

A little calf that looked just like Pixie was romping in the grass, flattening it down.

A team of long eared, horned goats munched on the green sea, trimming it down.

"None of the goats really have names." Claire informed me. "They kinda act like one organism, so they're just 'The Goats'".

As if to illustrate her point, all the goats shuffled away to a new patch of turf.

"See? Freaky, no?" She giggled. "Those are the barns, and that's the stable."

"You keep horses?"

"Just one." She giggled, slightly darkly. "Her name is Rogue."

"Can I see?"

"Of course," She muttered. "Walk this way."


	6. Rogue

Doctor POV

I was watching Kat and Claire from a distance, as it is always a good idea around Rogue.

Elli and Cliff chattered in worry.

"Umm, here. Hold this and stay on that side of the gate." Claire pushed Kat around to the other side of the stable door. "Brace yourself." She grimaced.

"Why, what's about to happen?" Kat held the stall gate open.

"Rogue." Claire said in a drastic tone.

I watched in silence as Claire disappeared into the stables and all was quiet for a moment.

"HEY! NO! ROGUE, WAIT!" Claire yelled.

Kat tensed and a scrawny brown mare shot out of the stables like a bullet, Claire hot on it's tail.

The mare charged down the field, kicking her legs and tossing her mane in some form of equine glee.

"Rogue!" Claire chased after the horse, moving quite fast, but not near as fast as the happy horse.

Elli placed a hand on her chest. "Oh, dear. I've heard Claire talk about Rogue, but I didn't actually think she meant it."

"She meant it." Cliff shook his head. "Rogue is a whirlwind."

"A real force of nature." I half frowned, not quite sure if I was referring to the horse or the blonde woman chasing it down.

Rogue jumped the stone fence and hurtled over a sheep.

Clay barked in excitement.

Rogue circled back around and looped Claire a few times before leaping away and heading towards the river, running along it's banks.

"Claire loves that horse though." Cliff sighed.

Rogue took a sudden turn and launched itself in our direction.

Our group split and I whipped around in horror to see the horse continuing to charge at Kat.

Kat tensed up and froze, her eyes wide in fear, taking in the sight of the charging horse rushing straight at her.

"WHOA!" Claire screamed.

Rogue slid to a stop right in front of Kat, who had now closed her eyes in fright, and began licking her face.

"Huh, that's really weird." Cliff jogged over to where Kat was, and the rest of us followed in suit.

"Oh my gosh! Kat, are you ok?" Claire was searching her for any sign of damage.

"I'm fine." Kat patted Rogue's muzzle. "She was just excited to see everyone."

"What?" I stared at her in disbelieve. "You can....?"

"Huh?" Kat turned to face me and a faint silver glow in her eyes faded, turning back to her normal hazel eye shade.

"What was that?" I asked again.

"What was what, Doctor?" Elli asked.

Cliff and Claire looked on with equally puzzled looks.

'No-one else saw it?' I gazed intently into her eyes until she blushed slightly and hung her head.

"I've never seen Rogue act like this. Kat, you'll have to come back again!" Claire practically bounced with excitement.

"Maybe some other day." I interjected. "For now, I would like Kat to be back at the clinic."

"Ok, some other day then." Claire shook Kat's hand and Cliff did the same.

I led Kat back to the Clinic, Elli following behind. I was eager to interrogate her about what I saw. 'A real force of nature.' I thought.


	7. What happened?

Doctor POV

"What happened?" I sat her down on her cot and pulled a chair up in front of her.

"What do you mean?" She wrinkled her nose in confusion.

"Rogue should have flattened you, but instead, she stopped. And I don't think she stopped because Claire told her to." I leaned in closer to her. "I think YOU told Rogue to stop." I whispered.

Kat quickly looked away.

"What happened?" I asked again, slower this time.

She refused to answer and refused to look at me.

"What happened?" I demanded this time.

"Why does it matter what happened?" She stared at her knees.

"It matters to me, and it matters as to how you stopped Rogue from plowing right into you." I placed a finger under her chin and force her to make eye contact with me. "What happen?" I tried again. "Your eyes were glowing silver."

"You saw...?" She sounded very small suddenly. She sighed. "Animals talk to me...."

"Talk to you how?" I scooted back a little to give her some breathing room.

"They...talk to me. Talk...like we are right now.." She whispered as though she was scared of someone else knowing.

"You can converse with them?" I spoke much in the same matter as she was.

She nodded. "Don't tell anyone." She forced.

"Why?" I asked, prodding her on.

She wrinkled her nose in confusion again, as though struggling to remember why someone not knowing might be important.

I sighed inwardly to myself, she looked so cute when she did that.

Suddenly, her eyes became wide and I saw something flicker deep within those hazel orbs.

"I remember..." She whispered, sounding spooked and stressed.

I grabbed a clipboard and click the pen, nodding for her to go on.

She released a small noise, like a sob, before going on. "There are people...who would like to control me, to own me, because of my gift...people willing.." She gulped. "To kill..for it. Therefore, no one can know.." She looked haunted.

I scribbled down everything on the paper. "Tomorrow, I'll have Elli take you to the farm. I'll go see Thomas and Harris. Don't dwell too much on this memory if it bothers you." I clicked the pen and stuck it in my coat pocket. All tomorrow, I'll work on her portfolio. I left her there on her cot.


	8. Darkest before Dawn

Kat POV

I was dreaming, I was sure of it...but it didn't make it any the less frightening...

"GET HER!" A gruff voice demanded, echoing down the alley after me.

Sweat dripped into my eyes and my heart threatened to explode with its frantic pounding.

Bullets hailed after me, burning holes in my flesh.

I screamed in pain, but couldn't stop. My legs pounded against the concrete ground, the sound bouncing off the tall buildings all around till I didn't know if the footsteps were my own or that of my chasers.

Blood, hot, sticky, and metallic smelling flowed down over my skin, leaving a trail as I passed under the glow of an old street lamp in need of repair.

My throat felt swollen as my heart seemed to pound there, making breathing a struggle, but I couldn't stop, not if I wanted to live.

I turned down a small alley way and was confronted with a tall chain fence.

The howls of men and dogs haunted after me, they were hunting me like a rabbit.

With a deep breath, I scaled the fence, ignoring the pain as the broken links and rust sliced into my hands and cut into my knees. I landed on the other side.

The fence would stop the dogs, slow the men, but I realized belatedly as a bullet grazed my cheek, it would not stop flying metal.

I spun and scrambled down the way, a waterfall of blood dripping from my cheek.

Something slammed into me full on the back and I fell, tumbling so I was laying on my back. I opened my eyes and shook violently.

It was him again, the faceless man, standing over me and pointing a gun at my face. "Time's up, darlin'. If I can't have you, no-one can."

"NOOO!!!" I screamed, coving my face with my arms and he pulled back the trigger with an explosive bang.

"AAHHHHH!" I sat up in bed, screaming wildly.

Footsteps pounded down the stairs and Trent ran into the room. "What's wrong?!" He was at my side in a moment, his hands on my cheeks. "Shh, shh, calm down."

My heart still pounded frantically.

"What's wrong?" He sat on the cot and pulled me close to himself. "Are you ok?"

"The...the..f-faceless man.." I tried to explain to him but I broke down crying into his nightshirt.

He tensed for a moment before slowly placing his hand on my back and hugged me. "It's ok, I wont let anything happen to you." He promised.

"Hello!" Elli yelled as she entered the front door. She walked around the divider and stopped when she saw me. "What's wrong?"

"Nightmare." Trent pulled away from me. "Elli, I have some work to get done today. Is there any chance you could take Kat to the farm for me?"

"Of course, I'm sure Claire will be happy to see her." Elli smiled and checked the clock. "It's 6am now, I'll take her at 10."

"Yes, thank you." Trent squeezed my hand before heading to his office.

"Oh, are you ok?" Elli asked me. "You're face looks a little red."

The clock struck 10 and Elli popped into the room. "Ready to go?" She asked cheerfully.

I nodded slowly and pulled on mine, or Karen's, sandals and walked out the door behind Elli.

"Have fun and be good." Trent yelled after us.

I turned around as we walked and saw Trent, standing outside the Clinic with his hands in his coats pockets, watching me carefully. I blushed and ran after Elli.

"Heya!" Claire came to a stop in front of us. "How are things?"

"Very good. Kat apparently had a memory last night, though Doctor says to leave her alone about it." Elli sighed.

"So...you here to play?" Claire addressed me.

"I would like..." I thought. "To maybe have a job here..?"

Elli looked at me strangely.

Claire grinned so wide it should have broken her face. "GREAT!" She yelled. "Hey, Cliff!"

Cliff came out of a nearby shed, wiping the oil off his hand with a greasy rag. "What?"

"I just got a farm-hand!" She squealed in excitement.

"Now, keep in mind that we'll have to ask Trent first." Elli warned us both.

Claire was too happy to hear. She was doing a little dance off to the side.

Clay ran up and began barking at the golden haired woman.

I tuned in to what the puppy was saying.

At first, it came through like static, then I could hear clearly.

"**Hey! Hey! Hey! Claire! Look down here! Look down here! I wanna dance too!**" The puppy barked and wiggled.

"Huh?" I whispered.

New voices were coming from all around.

"**Let's go, girls. There's some loving bugs over here.**" A hen called.

"Wha?" I turned around.

"**MOM! Som'ins touching meeee!**" Fae, the calf, yelled.

"**It's just the grass, dear.**" The calf's mom, Pixie, called.

"**So, what do you think?**" One of the sheep asked.

"**I think you're full of yourself.**" Another shot back.

The air was alive with chatter, even the bees were at it.

"**Let's go! Let's go! The Queen depends entirely on us, you know.**" A tiny, but demanding voice, buzzed past.

"This is too weird...I've always heard them, but never like this." I whispered to myself.

Clay stood up on his back legs. "**Look! Look, Mommy! I'm dancing too!**" He jumped up and down like Claire.

"**Bet I can beat ya across the field!**" Rogue whinnied to Clay.

"**You're on!**" Clay barked, tearing across the ground after the horse.

"Clay!" Claire yelled, almost loosing balance as the puppy ran under her feet. "Sometimes I wonder what goes on in the little head of his." She shook her head.

I watched the duo tear across the field.

"Well, let me show you what you'll be doing." Claire smiled and pulled me along.


	9. The Cat's Meow

Kat POV

Claire led to the the barn and tossed me a pitchfork. "This is what you'll be doing." She grinned.

My jaw fell open, cow pies littered the straw on the floor in mass amounts.

"It's time for the summer mucking and, well, in the farming business...one starts from the bottom up." She pointed straight up in the air to illustrate her point. "There's the wheel barrow and various other pitchforks. You saw where the compost pile is, right?" She asked.

"I have to do all this? By myself!?" I stabbed a pile of pew with the pitchfork.

"I may help later, but you'll have more then enough time. Since it's getting so nice, the cows and sheep will be spending all their time outside now." She yawned. "Ugh, Rogue is tiring me out." She stretched and left me to my work.

///

Mostly, I had been entertaining myself with my thoughts as I filled up wheel barrow after wheel barrow full of 'Muck' and carted it to around the back of the barn. I hummed old tune I knew to myself.

Something fell out of the ceiling on me and I screamed.

"_**Oh, that's right...I keep forgetting you're not Claire.**_" The voice purred.

I kept screaming.

"_**Oh, please do stop that noise..It's painful to listen to.**_"

My jaw snapped shut.

"_**Oh, so you ARE a whisperer! Rogue had said something about it, but you can't always either trust or understand what she says.**_" The cat jumped off my shoulder and sat on the ground in front of me, curling her tail around her feet, laughing politely. "_**Not that I mean to speak bad about my friends, of course.**_"

I stared at the black cat, blinked and stared.

"_**Well, I already know your name, you're Kat. The boss calls me Sootball, though the boss's husband calls me Sootsprite.**_"

"...Hi.." I offered weakly with a weak wave to match.

"_**Yes, hello.**_" Sootball nodded. "_**So, the boss has you mucking then?**_"

I looked around and shrugged.

"_**So, let's hear about you. What sort of things do you like?**_"

"Manual labor...like this." I heaved a lump of soiled straw into the wheel barrow.

"_**A good thing for any human to enjoy.**_" She nodded approvingly.

I pushed the wheel barrow out the open barn doors and around to the back, emptying it in the pile of rotten litter, fruits, and veggies.

Sootball hopped in the empty barrow as a wheeled in back to the barn. "_**You're getting pretty far!**_" She sounded impressed.

"Just because I grew up in the city, doesn't mean I didn't find ways to work on farms." I sighed, picking up the pitchfork.

"_**Meaning? I though cities didn't allow livestock.**_" She hopped up on a feed bin and sat calmly.

"I'd find ways to get to the country and, if I couldn't get back and forth, I would just stay at the farm. I'd sleep in the hayloft." I paused. "At least, I think I did..." I leaned on the pitchfork and wondered.

"I'm not paying you to do nothing!" Claire teased, entering the barn.

"I'm getting paid?" I mumbled.

"Well, of course! Oh, wow, you got a lot of work done already...Hey Sootball."

"_**Hello, Claire.**_" Sootball meowed, though Claire wouldn't be able to understand her.

"Well, come with me and I'll show you how to collect honey. That will be your morning job from here out."

///

"It's ok, it's fine!" Claire insisted as I gawked in horror. She had thrust her exposed, bare hand right into the bee hive, scarping with her nails. "See?" She thrust her hand at me, holding a large chunk of comb, bees swarming her arm.

I covered my eyes in horror, expecting her to start screaming at any moment.

"It's over! It's ok!" She used her clean hand to pull my arm away from my eyes. "See? They don't have any stingers." She held a bee to my face, almost to my nose.

My eyes crossed as I stared down at the tiny buzzing creature.

It looked like any other honey bee, but Claire was right, it had no stinger.

"Jesh, don't you trust me?" She put her clean hand on her hip.

"Not when you put your hand in a hive without explaining that the bees are harmless. That tends to make people think you're crazy." I muttered.

Cliff walked by carrying a garden rake. "Morning, ladies."

"Hey Cliff?" Claire asked sweetly.

"Yes?" He stopped for a moment.

"Do you think I'm crazy?" She asked.

"Only when you stick your hand in that hive." He eyed the honey comb and walked towards the garden.

"_**It is kind of scary when you do that.**_" Sootball meowed, walking up to us.

"Sootball, you're against me too?" Claire faked a gasp.

Sootball scratched her chin with her foot.

"Do you know how to milk a cow?" Claire asked.

"Not by hand." I shrugged.

"Well, not by hand, we use a hand held milker-machine."

"Yea, I've used those before."

"Wonderful, then I expect you here tomorrow morning, by 6am, I mean." She raised and eye and crossed her arms, as though expecting me to back out.

"Sounds about right." I nodded.

"You're ok with that?" She looked half shocked.

"I can do it." I promised.

"Good! Let's check out the chicken coop!" She cheered happily.

///

This is a memory that will forever live on in my heart....or forever be burned into my mind.

The moment we entered the coop, a large brown hen attacked me.

"Mama Mia, what are you doing?!" Claire pulled her hen off me. "She's no threat!"

The instant Claire let the chicken flutter back to the ground, the hen was fine and calm.

"You ok?!" Claire helped me to my feet. "Ugh, she cut your nose up a bit." She pressed a handkerchief to my nose before the blood could start dripping. "Yea...well...that's Mama Mia, she can be a bit mean, but she the most wonderful layer and brooder you'll ever see. We've hatched goose eggs under that girl." She pointed to where Mama Mia was sitting on a nest of straw, many chicks of many different colors peeking from under her wing. "We sell chicks to all over, I'm thinking about trying to find another brooder. None of the girls outside are very good mothers. I mean, the lay everyday, and they lay very good eggs in the same place each time, but then they don't set them." Claire shrugged. "Some have it, some don't." She grabbed a scoop of scratch and tossed it on the floor for the chickens.

The chicks all scattered after the scratch and swarmed around Claire's feet.

"So, what do you think? You'll definitely help?" She asked, smiling.

"Of course." I nodded.


End file.
